Pivot: The Game
Michael Griscom, David Klimek, Frans Kurniawan, Shitianyu Pan, Joshua Ventura
Department of Computer Science & Engineering, The Ohio State University, 2015 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210
SUMMARY
HOW TO PLAY
Pivot is a single player puzzle-adventure
game that is a twist on concepts
popularized by Valve’s Portal. In Pivot,
players have the ability to create portals,
which act as wormholes allowing the
player – and other objects – to transport
across the level.
Pivot carries the physics-altering
mechanics further by allowing players to
manipulate gravity, adding to the depth
of the puzzles. As the player progresses
through the game the level difficulty
increases, slowly introducing new gameplay elements and forcing the player to
avoid spiders, turrets, and other
obstacles.
In addition to the built-in levels, players
have the option of creating their own
custom levels, which can then be shared
with others. The diversity of in-game
objects allows for many possible designs,
enabling the creation of a wide variety of
puzzles.
LEVEL EDITOR
The goal of the game is to progress through every level.
This is accomplished by reaching the “End Zone” through
the use of tools at the player’s disposal, while avoiding
obstacles. A timer adds an additional element of
competition, allowing players to track their personal best
times for each level. The levels become increasingly
difficult, slowly introducing new puzzle elements as the
player becomes accustomed to the game mechanics.
Players also have the option of creating custom levels through
the use of a built-in level editor. The user-friendly interface and
file format allow for the quick creation and sharing of levels.
The level editor also provides a drop-in feature to allow
immediate play testing during level creation.
Table 2. Level editor controls
Button
Table 1. Game controls
Button
W/A/S/D
Space
Mouse
Left mouse button
Right Mouse button
Esc
F2
Function
Character Movement
Jump
Look
Fire blue portal
Fire orange portal
Pause Menu
Audio Menu
Figure 2. Main menu screen
MAIN MENU
Upon starting the game, the player has several options. They
can play the main game, unlocking new levels as they progress,
or create their own levels using the level editor. There are also
several audio, visual, and game play options that can be
adjusted.
Mouse/Arrow keys
+/U/I/O/J/K/L
W/A/S/D
Q/E
Ctrl+[add or subtract key]
Ctrl+Arrow Keys
Space/Left mouse button
Right mouse button
Ctrl+(Shift)+E
Ctrl+M
Esc
Function
Translate cursor
Move cursor forward/backward
Alter cursor orientation
Translate Camera
Zoom camera out/in
Rotate camera
Rotate level
Place object
Remove object
Alter object type
Alter object sub-type
Pause Menu
Spider
• Climb walls
• Only walk on metallic surfaces
Stationary Turret
• Fires out of all sides
• Fires at predictable intervals
Lava Balls
Figure 1. Level end is indicated by a blue marker, damage by a red screen overlay
CONTACT
Michael Griscom
David Klimek
Frans Kurniawan
Shitianyu Pan
Joshua Ventura
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
• Hurt player and spiders on contact
• Fall through portals
Figure 4. Level editor and pause menu
Gravity Buttons
Metal
• Activated when jumped on
• Alter universal gravity
• Supports portals
Rubber
• Bounces the player
Portals
• Player can fire one pair of portals
• Level portals alter player’s gravity
Other
Figure 3. Gravity buttons can reorient the level in surprising ways
• Do not support portals